Google Takes The Nexus 7 Tablet To Some Of Europe

Google has, with little fuss, expanded the international availability of its Nexus 7 seven-inch Android tablet to include France, Germany, and Spain. That exposes some 200 million people to the device, which until now had only been available in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. The tablet is selling at €199 for 8GB and €249 for the 16GB model ($249 and $311 equivalent prices, likely including sales tax).

Google's Nexus 7 may be one of the most interesting Android tablets around, thanks to its low U.S. price of just $199 and the fact that it's an official own-brand product—a cheap flagship, if you will. Amazon, Google's biggest rival in the seven-inch tablet game, with its heavily-skinned U.S.-only Kindle Fire device, is expected to release its updated Fire lineup in early September. An updated Fire may be joined by a larger tablet approaching the iPad's size. Apple, the leader in the entire tablet game, is now rumored to have its own small-format iPad launch in October.